Are bark collars inhumane?

Question

My husband has had it with our 7 mth of Newfie and wants to get a bark collar but I am afraid it will hurt him. Do they work and are they inhumane? Plz help.

Answer 1

Everybody is going to have a different view on this. Considering he is still so young, I would definately say NO, don't use one. He is still a puppy and has all this energy and is just discovering his "voice". Personally, I would not use a bark collar on any of my dogs, I am one the those who think it's cruel. Dogs bark . . . it's what they do, it's part of how they communicate. Yes, their bark can be annoying but you can train them to stop when told and to not bark period (i.e. at people walking past your house, ect). However, this decision is completely up to you and you have to do what you feel is right. For now, you may want to try using Bitter Apple. When he starts barking, just spray a little in his mouth and tell him "no bark". Dogs do not like the taste of this and once they associate the taste with the undesired behavior, will stop. At least that worked for me. Good luck!

Answer 2

They are the lazy way out. It means that the human is too lazy or too stupid to train the dog. They electronically shock the dog. Ever been shocked? It hurts. I would NEVER train my dog by hurting it. The collars are actually illegal in some countries and I would *NEVER* use one on my child or my dog.

Dogs bark. If barking was a problem, then a dog should not have been acquired.

Instead of using a collar, try to get to the root of the barking. Is he barking to alert you of something? Is he territorial? Find out the reason and train him not to do with with positive reinforcement and you may be able to break the habit. But you also can't expect a dog to go against his natural instinct simply because it bothers a human. Be realistic and gentle and you may be able to meet the pup halfway or better. : )

Answer 3

There are several different kinds of collars. My brother had to use one on his German Shepard/ Rottweiler mix. She was so stubborn that nothing he tried worked. Before he would shock her he would holler at her 5 or 6 times and then he used it only as a last resort. I've seen some that use a fowl smell, but I don't know how those work. And if you use just enough electricity to get her attention and not really hurt her, I'd say give it a try.
But to find out how much it takes your probably going to have to take a while to find out. Start with the lowest setting and slowly work up from there.

Answer 4

Inhumane? Yes!!! Why don't you try one and see how it feels. Everytime you do something wrong your husband can give you a zap!

Why don't you try some training and positive reinforcement before going to these extremes. Teach the dog to silence on command. It will take some work on your part, but in the end it will strengthen your relationship with your pup, rather then make his life miserable.

Would you put a shock collar on your 7month old human child? No - because it's inhumane.

Answer 5

We had a shock/bark collar for our dog because he was a big barker. It didn't work at all for him, and it's not suppose to hurt him, but I'm sure it did a bit. We only used it for a bit, then we stopped because we thought it was to mean to use of him.

I would suggest not to use a shock/bark collar. Mainly because well would you want to be shocked every time you yelled? I know I wouldn't, maybe there is another way to stop your dog from barking.

Hope everything goes well with you and your dogs situation.

Answer 6

they are not exactly inhumane but you do not want to use it on a puppy. ive been a manager at petsmart for over 3 years and work with dog trainers any trainer there will tell you not to use one. i suggest calling petsmart and talking to the trainer there are only 7 reasons a dog barks how about trying to find out why. besides if the dog is barking at something specific shocking him every time he barks at it can cause him to grow aggression towards it(like some dogs only bark at men, or kids, etc.) positive reinforcement works a whole lot better..not to mention its cheaper

Answer 7

Personally I feel these collars are cruel. It's nothing but shock therapy and no one wants to be shocked for doing what comes naturally. There are other ways to stop barking that are safe and not cruel such as obedience training. There are clickers they use to train them and they can show you exactly how to do it and when.

There are collars that don't use static or shock to work. They are citronella collars that spray a light scent dogs don't like under their noses when they bark. ALOT nicer than shocking them!! Here's a link to some bark info and info on the collars I mentioned.

http://placervillevet.com/barking.htm

Hope this helps!

Answer 8

I have used the sonic collar, at WalMart, and it works great! Not cruel a bit, and doesn't traumatize my rescued dogs.

the sonic collar allows 2 'free' barks, and gives a warning buzz on the third bark..the buzz gets louder for each 2 barks therafter..the only problem with the cheap one at Walmart($30) is that it can't get wet, or it shorts out.. It is not a painful sound, humans can hear it..it is just irritating to the dog, as his barks are to you!
It took 2 days to get her to quit incessant barking, on the last rescued dog I used it on, ( 6 months old) and could be removed after 2 weeks..She is a 11 year old, well adjusted and happy dog..that barks only when appropriate.

Answer 9

it wont hurt, and depending on the dog, it might not work at all anyways. my dog killed 2 of them. litterally killed them, fried them from over use. and they never worked on her. it just didnt faze her at all. but its not like it hurts that much. its like licking a 9 volt battery, just a little shock. believe me, all of my friends got shocked by the collar (as did me and my entire family) just to see how it felt.

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my dog barked 24/7 for about 13 years. anything that moved, made noise, didnt make noise, didnt move, she barked at it. she even went to obidence school and failled. twice. we tried rewarding her for not barking, scolding her when she wouldnt stop, shaking a can of coins, spraying her with water, it just didnt matter. she likes to bark. and always have and always will. to this day she will sit staring at a wall and just bark at it (she's blind now so the barking as stopped a little since she cant see stuff to bark at). she has the most obnoxious high pitched bark (she's a springer spaniel) and its not like she's barking for attention or cause she's bored, she thinks barking is playing, and never learned to play right and she barks for everything. if she wants to be petted, she sits next to you are barks, if you stop she barks, if you tell her to go lay down, she barks louder, if you leave her alone she barks, if you feed her she barks, it just what she does. i dont know where she learned it from, she grew up with a dog that only barked when someone came to the door, and she lived with that dog almost 13 years

and the person that said to use the citronella spray thing, let me just tell you that stuff is poison, and you and your pets should not be exposed to it.

Answer 10

I wouldn't recommend it. Your puppy is pretty young. Maybe he has too much energy. Try taking him on long brisk walks or playing with him. Keep his mind active. His barking might be away of letting you know he's bored. Try spraying him with water or something a bit more humane when he has barking episodes, but only do that if he continues to bark after you have given him plenty of exercise.

My dog was a barker when she was little but with patience and lots of play time and exercise I weened her of the bad habit.

Good Luck!